PEACE

Peace.  It's wrapped itself all around each one of the Velvet Lime Girls lately. Around Laura, with a husband just coming out of the Emory Hospital ICU, around Marybeth, with a daughter overcoming a concussion, and around Rebecca, as she and her amazing team oversee the 1000+ children at Northpoint Church.
Yeah, we've each experienced a peace that transcends all comprehension lately, and we just had to let you know, if you're facing some kind of challenge or amazing busyness this Christmas season, there really is a peace that can hold you and calm you.  
So, we've created a simple graphic for you today as a gentle reminder that the Prince of Peace wants to come into your life and bring a calm that can settle any storm or any busyness you may be facing today.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

Wrapped in His Peace, 
The Velvet Lime Girls 

P.S. If you're in need of a little extra comfort today, pour yourself a cup of tea, and settle-in to the words of this Comfort Song.  Even if the music style isn't your cup of tea, the soothing words here promise to bring healing to any heavy hearts out there. There are long pauses, so soak in the whole ten minutes of comfort and peace.

Joy

JOY is the third buoy to safe harbor that we'll talk about during this breast cancer awareness month.  Joy will buoy your spirit and life to a healthy, happy and whole place. For those overcoming breast cancer, finding a little joy each day is an essential daily requirement.
We've found a few simple sources of random joy that can brighten even the weariest of days and we'd like to pass a few on to you right here.

Get out in the sun!
Yes, just stepping out into the sunshine will do wonders for your countenance and, as it turns out, for your health as well. According to Dr. Mercola, the vitamin D that you'll soak up in just a 10-15 minute period can be extremely healing to your whole body, lower your blood pressure and interfere with breast cancer's ability to spread.  Just take a quick look at some of the other benefits of sunshine in this article by Dr. Mercola:  Dr. Mercola on Vitamin D
Another article by Dr. Veronique Desaulniers points out that an 83% reduction in breast cancer occurred when the vitamin D level in the blood was doubled to 50ngml: Dr. V on Vitamin D

So, just stepping out into the sunshine can increase your vitamin D level and start you down a healthier path!  Obviously, a little vitamin D supplementation will need to go along with that sunshine exposure and both Dr. V and Dr. Mercola offer vitamin D suggestions on their sites.  We hope you check these info links out and treat yourself to a little time in the sunshine today.

Laugh!
Yep, just a simple laugh!  It's more powerful that you can imagine. 
According to WedMD. a good laugh can boost your immune system, positively affect blood sugar levels and improve your sleep at night.  So, pull out those old funny movies, joke books and stories that make you belly laugh.  Or just share some light-hearted moments with cute, little ones or people who make you smile.  You'll find some other great health benefits of laughing right here: WebMD on Laughing Benefits

Chocolate!
Mmm... did someone say chocolate?  Yes, you read that right!  In moderation, a little bit of quality chocolate is quite beneficial and will certainly bring a little joy into your day.  Yum! 
Aim for dark chocolate that has a high cacao content for the greatest benefits.  One of our favorite chocolate companies is the Lily brand found at Whole Foods.  Since it's made with stevia, there are no sugar concerns here, just-sheer-chocolate-joy! We bet your antioxidant levels are going up just thinking about this little bar!  For an additional boost, read about some of the amazing health benefits of chocolate right here:  Dr. Axe on Chocolate

Since we're tossing out random ideas on sources of joy, we'll wrap up with one last idea today.  

Try something new!
When you are on a healing journey for your health, it's amazing how trying something new will expand your horizons and bring in unexpected joy. We recently tried something quite new and the health benefits have been amazing, so we'll chat about it here for a moment.  After reading about the remarkable health benefits of a hyperbaric-oxygen chamber, we stepped into one for the first time at Lyfewell, right here in Johns Creek, Georgia!  Oh, if you are on a healing journey, you need to stop by this place!  The hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and the pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) increase oxygen levels, enhance blood flows and bring scientifically-proven restorative health benefits to the body.  Yes, you'll begin to notice a nice positive change after a few sessions and you'll be glad you tried something new and so beneficial.  Take a few moments to learn more about this interesting treatment at their site: Lyfewell  

These are just a few of the random sources of joy we've experienced lately.  We hope you'll share some of your little joys, (your "buoys of joy"), that have perhaps brought you into a safer harbor on your healing journey.  We'd love to hear from you and be inspired! 

We've got the joy, joy, joy, joy...down in our hearts,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Safe Harbor

A safe harbor.  Sometimes that's all you need.  A place to restore, revive and renew yourself.  As we launch into Breast Cancer Awareness Month this month, we'll be identifying some life-lines, buoys and safe harbor suggestions for those  who are navigating the rough waters of a breast cancer diagnosis.  Pass this on to anyone you know facing breast cancer.  It's rough seas out there for many of them, but they can ease into calmer waters with the right compass and buoys. We'll be talking about some of these buoys this month and we look forward to you coming aboard with us.

We know what it's like to be tossed into the overwhelming, tumultuous, open seas of a breast cancer diagnosis.  One of the Velvet Lime Girls, Laura, faced this diagnosis in June of 2015 and everything changed here in our little studio.  The seas were just-pretty-darn-rough for awhile, with our anchor in God holding us down and averting a major shipwreck.  There's just SO much to process with a diagnosis of breast cancer.  Do you go the conventional route? Alternative route? A combination route? What DO you do???  One thing is for sure ... you can't ignore it.  You're in a storm and you need some direction.  You need buoys that will guide you into a safe harbor.  We found some! And when you find buoys that help, you just want to yell out at the top of your lungs, over the crashing waves, to everyone out there adrift in the sea, "We found help!  Here are some buoys to safe harbor!"
So, that's what we're going to do.  We're going to yell out and point you in the direction of a few buoys we've found helpful along the way.  

Our first beautiful buoy is a site called Breast Cancer Conqueror.  
Whether you choose a conventional, alternative or a combination route to overcome breast cancer,  you'll find a treasure of resources, support and compassion here.  It's a great place to start if you just don't even know where to begin.  As their site says,  you'll learn to "Never Fear Breast Cancer Again."  The founder, Dr. Veronique Desaulniers, healed her own breast cancer naturally and documented the journey in her book, Heal Breast Cancer Naturally.  Along the way she left a trail of research-backed medical studies and resources that make this book a big, bright buoy, helping women on their healing journeys and guiding women who want to prevent getting breast cancer.  Go get the book today for yourself and then get one for your daughters, your mothers, and the friends you love.  It's been the biggest buoy out there for Laura and we know it will help guide you into safe waters.  Check out the heart of the healing program right here in this video: 7 Essentials Program. 

We'll be sharing several other buoys during this Breast Cancer Awareness month and we would like to hear your stories of the lifelines and guiding systems you have used to navigate your course through the rough seas of a breast cancer diagnosis.  Remember, you have a voice and you can use your story to help someone else who may be in distress.  So use your voice and help us tell others about the
buoys that can lead to safe harbor.

"My help and glory are in God - granite-strength and safe-harbor God." Psalms 62:7 

Smooth sailing ahead,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Garland Your Life with Grace

Garlands of Grace draping your life.  Doesn't that sound like a lovely way to live?
Oh, we think so, and these watercolor embellished flowers from our garden seem to convey just what a grace-draped life would look like... relaxed elegance and refinement in the midst of raindrops and watercolor-splashes.  What a beautiful way to live.  When we read this passage below from The Message today it inspired the colorful splatters above and brought some new insights about Wisdom.

"Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!
Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding!
Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won’t regret it;
never let her go—she’ll make your life glorious.
She’ll garland your life with grace,
she’ll festoon your days with beauty.”
Proverbs 4:3-9

So, we're on a little mission around here in our studio to Get Wisdom.
And just like this slender branch of buds, we believe Wisdom will garland our lives with grace.

Getting Wisdom,
The Velvet Lime Girls 

Change of Season

Well, we're still enjoying the beautiful wrap-up of summer here in Georgia, with light breezes, warm temperatures and sunny skies.  Thoughts of fall are not even on our horizon, but today that changed with the arrival of our Hello Fall doormat sample!  Oh, we were just thrilled to receive this beautiful sample from the great team we've worked with at Evergreen Enterprises! Thank-you Evergreen!
Apparently these doormats with our artwork are available at many locations that carry Evergreen doormats and we even found an online Groupon offer for the decorative doormat!  Here's a couple sightings we've had of the Hello Fall doormat.  Let us know if you see one in your area!

Amazon - Happy Fall Doormat

Groupon - Happy Fall Doormat


Happy Labor Day week-end to everyone,
The Velvet Lime Girls 

Living in Full Bloom

Living life in full bloom is the best way to live.
We've been doing just that this summer in our studio! 
The art tables are full of flowers and treasures from the garden and they've been bringing a bounty of nourishment to our souls as well as our palate.
                 

We've also had the lovely hum of grandchildren in the studio this summer. Their petite handprints covered in paint, original works of art and occasional sprints across dew-covered grass have brought in a fresh breeze of giggles and inspiration to our studio.

                                         

These tiny finger-painters, bubble-chasers, feather-finders and gigglers really know how to live life in full bloom! They find joy everywhere and squeal in sheer delight over the tiniest little treasure...like this soft, delicate bird feather nestled in the leaves.

These little ones who dance around so carefree and light have brought new insight into what living life in full bloom is all about.  They find joy, treasures and giggles in the ordinary, everyday rhythm of life.
  
The free and light pitter-patter of these little ones in our studio is a beautiful reminder of one of our favorite quotes:

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?  Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.
Matthew 11:28-30 The Message 

So we hope you'll take a moment today to rest, relax, laugh, (maybe even chase bubbles) ... and begin to live your life in full bloom. You are so beautiful in full bloom.

Living free and light,
The Velvet Lime Girls 

FUN Grad Card at Trader Joe's!

Do you have a fun-loving grad in your family or circle of friends?   We've created the perfect light-hearted graduation card for them and you can find it at your local Trader Joe's store! Yeah, that's right!  Just look for it in the card section!

The inspiration for this cute little card is easy to find. Marybeth, one of the Velvet Lime Girls, used to zip around in a cute little yellow bug just like this for a few years, and it's bright yellow color always brought a little sunshine into every place it travelled!   And now, with the upcoming high school graduation of Marybeth's daughter, Madison, this fun-loving card will always hold a special place in her heart and ours. Yes, there will be so many wonderful adventures ahead for Madison and for all those other wonderful graduates out there about to begin a new season of life.  

God bless each one of you!
The Velvet Lime Girls

Easter Blessings

One of the highlights of the year around our studio is the celebration of Easter.  It's much more than bunnies, chocolate and Easter egg hunts for us. Although we do joyfully participate in all these fun traditions, Easter is really a time when we pause, with honor and respect, to remember the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on our behalf, and on Sunday we celebrate the glorious resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We hope you'll pause to read the full historical account of the first Easter as recorded in the Bible. You'll find it over in chapters 18, 19 & 20 of the book of John. Today we're sending out a lighthearted Easter blessing to you and we hope you'll feel free to pass it along to others. It's a vibrant little graphic to share as we remember the greatest blessing ever given to all of us at Easter.

The Velvet Lime Girls 

Cultivate Kindness

Spring arrived earlier this week and we are dusting off our gardening tools and playing in the dirt again!  Oh, we just love this time of year around here in the Velvet Lime Girl's studio!  The garden begins to come to life as the little seedlings we nurtured through the previous weeks are planted tenderly into the soil. It's a busy time of cultivating in the garden too and it made us think of other things that we can cultivate in our lives.  Things like kindness... that quality of being friendly, generous and considerate.

Just like garden seedlings, kindness can be cultivated, tended, and developed until it becomes fully developed in our lives. And oh, what a beautiful sight that is!  Far more beautiful than any flower garden or vegetable patch. Kindness brings a beauty to all the terrain around it.

The people touched by kindness are just never the same...they bloom!

So, we hope you'll cultivate a little kindness today into your life and the lives of those around you.

Playing in the dirt,

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. Thank-you to Trends International for selecting this artwork to be in their 2018 calendar!

Be My Valentine!

Here's a little Valentine for you today!  A heart embellished graphic that carries a reminder of just how valuable your heart is!  

It's so important to guard your heart because, as we discovered in a beautiful passage in the Bible, that's where life starts, that's where the issues of life spring from.  We like the way Proverbs 4:23 says it best:

"Keep a vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.

We've been learning just how important keeping a watch over our hearts really is and it led us to another beautiful discovery... our hearts will follow what we treasure. It's true!  Just listen to the way a man named Matthew said it:

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:21

So we're choosing to re-evaluate what is really important in this life and with God's direction we're discovering true treasures and blissfully letting our hearts follow.

Happy Valentine's Day,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Thank-you to Evergreen Enterprises and FlagsRUs for choosing our Valentine's Day themed artwork BE MINE - My Heart, My Treasure to grace their garden flags and Sassafras Doormats. 
We appreciate you all!

Love Recklessly

Love recklessly.  It's a phrase that surprisingly is found in the Bible and recently inspired us to create this artwork. Here's the source of our inspiration: 

“Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal."  John 12:24-25  The Message             

"Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” Luke 10:27 The Message

Loving God with reckless abandon,

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. Thanks to Embroidery Online, Embroidery Design Studio and Embroidery Janome for including this artwork in the Lovely Sentiments by Velvet Lime Girls Collection!

You're Loved

We're sending you a Valentine sentiment today to remind you of just how very loved you are. It's a tender, heartfelt expression from God, the one who knew you before you were born and who has promised to never leave you.  Just listen to the way he talks about you:

"You are precious and honored ... and I love you."  Isaiah 43:4

Whoa...precious, honored, loved.  That beats any box of chocolates, flowers or sweet sentiments you may or may not receive this Valentine's Day.  YOU are LOVED by GOD.

So tuck this little Valentine in your heart today and let it's sweetness just melt-all-over-your-soul.

You are so loved,

The Velvet Lime Girls 

P.S. Thank-you to Legacy Publishing Group for the Valentine's Day gift to us of this coaster ... with our artwork!  They've also featured our artwork on calendars, cards and stationery.  Love working with this great team! 

85 Years Young

We have a lot of inspiration around here at the Velvet Lime Designs Studio and one of our favorite sources is my Dad, Clarence P. Skinner.  His garden flowers, ballast rocks, grapes, peppers, photos, vintage train wheels, weathered barn doors and thoughts on life have often been the source of our blogs and artwork.  As he turns 85 years old this week, I wanted to share a bit of the rich treasure he has brought into my life and into our studio with some of the photos and blogs he has inspired.  Each of the first six photos below includes a blog link in pink and I hope you'll take a moment to read the rest of the story behind each photo.

Thanks Dad for teaching me to see the beauty in things (and people) that might often be discarded, from the rusted flywheels in your garden

Flywheel

to the scattered glass shards on seashores.

Treasures in the Trash

 
For encouraging me to stand strong like salty doors 

Salty Doors

and leave the ballast rocks of the past to embrace new life ahead.

Ballast Rock Lessons

To keep my heart open to God 

Living Water

and remind me that new life can bloom in "dead of winter" moments.

Bloom in Winter

Most of all, thanks for crowning me with a love straight from the heart of God.

Crowned with Love

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Dad, 

Laura

"The glory of children is their fathers." Proverbs 17:6

Grape Harvest

Kayak Buddies

Daily Prayer Walk

Young at heart!

Peace

Peace.  What a wonderful gift from God. Peace.

We thought we'd send you a simple ornament sketch today that carries a relaxing expression.

Inhale Peace. Exhale Peace.

Yeah, you can do that right now.

Right in the midst of your busy day, your full schedule, the surprise you hadn't planned on, or the list you haven't finished. We know about the squeeze of cares that can just seem to press some of the joy out of Christmas this time of year, but we've learned that God's peace can put everything in order.  We think it's because that's the way we were created to live.  In Peace.

History records that just as Jesus Christ was born an announcement was made about peace coming to all of us.  Here it is, in case you missed it:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  Luke 2:14

So, it's right here ... that peace you need today.  It's been given to you and our hope is that you'll pause a moment and receive this gift.  Just slowly inhale God's peace, and then watch as your world begins to change, with cares crushed beneath the sound of an exhale. The exhale of His peace.

Breathing in His Peace,

The Velvet Lime Girls 

Grateful Hearts

Hello December 1st! 

O-o-o-h, you came a little earlier than we expected.  We have to admit that we're still savoring all the grace and gratitude that the month of Thanksgiving brought into our hearts and into our studio. We love the slow, easy pace of the month of November.  A month filled with just giving-thanks, recognizing our blessings and exhaling gratitude into the world.  

So, we thought why not extend this grace-gratitude-grateful-feeling right into the month of December?  After all, it's the month we celebrate the most wonderful gift ever given to us.  The birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh, what a gift from God! A Savior who would come to us and as The Message translation records, move into our neighborhood.

"The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." John 1:14

So pause on this first day of December and allow Him to move into your neighborhood... into your work, your relationships, your challenges, your joys, your dreams...your life.

God's presence in our lives can really bring a new perspective to things, a deep sense of gratitude. A gratitude that will be a magnet for miracles in your life.

With grateful hearts,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Strength, Wisdom, Peace

We created a little mid-week encouragement for you.

A bright-faced graphic that just seems to say it all.

So walk in strength, wisdom and peace today and have a wonderful Wednesday!

The Velvet Lime Girls

Overflowing Hope

August arrived yesterday with bouquets of bright, beaming sunflowers.  These sunshine spears always mark the beginning of what we call the sunflower season. 

The hot, steamy temperatures of August just seem to invigorate these solar-flare-flowers

that streak into the sky with a 

Jack-in-the-Beanstalk style speed.

 What an inspiration! They make us want to dance-around and paint everything bright yellow!

  

So, here's a little splash of happy color and inspiration just for you. 

Three joy-filled sunflowers from our garden that seem to say: 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13 

Sending you sunshine smiles full of hope,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Patriotic Quote for the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to you today!  On this day when we look back and remember our Independence Day as a nation, we thought we'd pull out a patriotic image we created back in 2010. 

Although the quote from Abraham Lincoln came almost a century after the historic 1776 adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress, the same message hope is conveyed.

And it's a message that still rings true for America today.

"...this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom..." 

Celebrating with grateful hearts & fireworks today,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Chive-Talking

A tousled-head of garden chive caught our eye this morning. It's spiky, feathery, petal tips, still tossing around drops of dew, were just beginning to stretch in the morning light and awake to the joy of today.  What an inspiration!

Chives aren't used to being seen so up-close and personal, and they're kind of just known for those slender, savory stems that infuse our food with flavor. Mmm, your tastebuds should be humming right now at the thought of a few minced wisps of chives.  A tiny sliver can change the whole palate. And this slender chive strand changed the whole palate in our garden today, as it stood up and overflowed with hope in the morning light.  If a little chive can do that, we can too.  We can choose to lift our tousled heads and let hope overflow in our lives. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

Overflowing with hope,
The Velvet Lime Girls